Islamic views on piety

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Piety (Sawab) in Islam is one of the most important Islamic ethics,Piety is normally refers to as Taqwa in Arabic language, which is derived from the root ‘waqaya’ meaning ‘to safeguard’ or ‘to abstain’. In the Islamic terminology it is defined as the action of restraining oneself from disobeying the commands of Allah. It is an act of self-restraint and self-control which is a positive quality bestowing an immunity upon the pious, and not a negative act or program. Meanwhile, every act of abstaining from sinning is not called as piety but the power of self-restraint and self-control responsible behind this abstaining is called Piety.^[1]

Meaning

Piety has been defined in various ways by different people and among whom are as follow:

• “Taqwa(piety), means to be conscious of the existence of Allah, acting toward pleasing Allah, fear Allah and seek protection from the anger of Allah and His punishment. This protection is realized by doing what Allah commands, and refraining from everything that Allah forbids. In brief, this protection is realized by obeying Allah which emanates only from the correct and strong belief in Him. This belief comprises the genuine love of Allah as well as the genuine fear of Him….”^[2]

Also other define it as thus:

• “Taqwa(piety) is .. a religious belief...which is important in Islam. Taqwa… in Islam is one of the interpretations of Islamic insight people would understand…that is…surrender to the will of God. Surrender to the will of God is basically what Taqwa is… " ^[2]
• “Taqwa(piety) is whereby a Muslim intentionally evades actions that lead to Allah`s fury and displeasure and at the same time deliberately undertakes steps and acts that will gratify Allah as mentioned in Suratul Al-Imran. In other words, it permits a person to be always conscious for both Allah's all-encompassing knowledge and characteristics and a reminder of their relationship and responsibility to Allah as his creation and servant. Hence, the way to Taqwa is through obedience of Allah, avoiding disobedience, and striving to stay away from doubtful matters” ^[2]
• When Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq was asked to elaborate on the meaning of the word, ‘Taqwa’(piety), he replied, “Submit to the command of Allah and do not go near the prohibited.” It means that one should endeavor to fulfill all the commands of Allah and abstain from the prohibited things.^[3]

in another place he define piety as thus: "Piety is that Allah does not miss you in the place where He has commanded you to be,and does not see (find) you where He has forbidden you from." ^[4]

In the Quran

In the Quran piety is defined as:

2:177 True piety does not consist in turning your faces towards the east or the west - but truly pious is he who believes in God, and the Last Day; and the angels, and revelation, and the prophets; and spends his substance - however much he himself may cherish it - upon his near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and the beggars, and for the freeing of human beings from bondage; and is constant in prayer, and renders the purifying dues; and [truly pious are] they who keep their promises whenever they promise, and are patient in misfortune and hardship and in time of peril: it is they that have proved themselves true, and it is they, they who are conscious of God.

— "Quran" (PDF). 

Quranic verses on Piety

• "O you who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah and be with the true ones".{Qur'an 9 : 119}
• “But the best of provisions is right conduct. So fear Me, O’ ye that are wise.” {Qur'an 2: 197}
• "And he who obeys Allah and His Apostles, and fears Allah, and is careful of (his duty to) Him, these it is that are the achievers".{Qur'an 24 : 52}
• "Surely he who guards (against evil) and is patient , for surely Allah does not waste the reward of those who do good". {Qur'an 12 : 90}
• "Surely Allah is with those who guard (against evil)and those who do good (to others)." {Qur'an 16 : 128}
• "Surely those who lower their voices before Allah's Apostle are they whose hearts Allah has proved for guarding (against evil); they shall have forgiveness and a great reward." {Qur'an 49 : 3}

In the Hadith

Piety is defined in the hadith, a collection of Muhammad's sayings. It is reported by An-Nawwas bin Sam'an:

"The Prophet Muhammad said, "Piety is good manner, and sin is that which creates doubt and you do not like people to know it.""

— Sahih Muslim, 32:6195,Sahih Muslim, 32:6196

Wabisah bin Ma’bad reported:

"I went to Messenger of Allah and he asked me: "Have you come to inquire about piety?" I replied in the affirmative. Then he said: "Ask your heart regarding it. Piety is that which contents the soul and comforts the heart, and sin is that which causes doubts and perturbs the heart, even if people pronounce it lawful and give you verdicts on such matters again and again."

— Ahmad and Ad-Darmi^[5]

Muhammad also said: "The most (important) things that cause people to reach Heaven are divine piety and a good temper."^[4]

• In another hadith Imam Ali said : “No deed, if accompanied by piety, is trivial.” ^[6]
• Imam Ali in his sermon at different occasions quoted to have said:

1. “you should therefore exercise fear of Allah because it has a rope whose knob is strong and its pinnacle is lofty and invulnerable.” ^[7]
2. Beware that sins are like unruly horses on whom their riders have been placed and their reins have been let loose so that they would jump with them in Hell.Beware that piety is like trained horses on which the riders have been placed with the reins in their hands so that they would take the riders to Heaven.^[7]
3. Know, O creatures of Allah, that piety is a strong house of protection while impiety is a weak house which does not protect its people, and does not give security to him who takes refuge therein.^[7]
4. Certainly, for today piety is a protection and a shield, and for tomorrow (the Day of Judgment) it is the road to Paradise.^[7]

Qualities of Pious(Muttaqin)

Quran stated the following characteristics for the Muttaqin as thus:

• "Those who believe in the Unseen, and maintain the prayer, and spend out of what We have provided them with and who believe in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down before you, and are certain of the Hereafter. Those follow their Lord’s guidance, and it is they who are the felicitous." (Qur'an 2 : 3-5)
• "Muttaqin is a person who leads a life of taqwa, eschewing things that are injurious to their personalities and espousing the laws of Allah".^[8]
• Also, the follows are stated as the qualities of Muttaqin ; "they are those who abide by and keep Allah's laws in sight,and those who have faith and long to “meet” with Allah, are people who study the universe and perform practical research on the objects therein as well as the forces of nature.^[8]
• Truthfulness and the acknowledgement of truth: In this relation,the Qur'an says: “And he who brings the truth and (he who) accepts it as the truth, these are they that guard (against evil).” {Qur'an 39 : 33}
• Belief in the Unseen which includes the belief in God, the Prophet, his successors, the belief in what was revealed to Muhammad, the Last Day, Resurrection, Sirat (the Straight Way),13 Balance, Reckoning, Paradise and Hell as God has said: “And who believe in that which has been revealed to you and that which was revealed before you and they are sure of the hereafter.” ^[8]
• As for the word “belief”, Imam Reza has narrated from the Messenger of Allah (SAW) his saying: “Belief is knowledge in the heart, acknowledgement with the tongue, and action with the organs of the body.
• They keep up prayer. { Qur'an 2:3}
• They give charity and spent what they have.{ Qur'an 2:3}
• Quranic verses and traditions, which are related to charity, focus on property, but commentators believe that charity includes property, power, position, and knowledge.
• Ibn Fahd al-Hilli, in his book Udattol Da’ee , has classified charity into five classes

1. Charity of property
2. Charity of position which is intercession
3. Charity of wits which is consultation
4. Charity of the tongue which is to reconcile opponents to each other
5. Charity of knowledge that is to disseminate knowledge to those seeking it

• About charity, the Messenger of Allah has been reported as saying: “Smiling to your brethren is a charity. To enjoin good, to forbid evil, to guide a misled person, to take away a stone, a piece of bone, or a thorn from the way of people, and to give a pail of water to your brethren are all charities.” ^[9]
• Among the qualities of pious it that;they control their anger. {Qur'an 3: 133-134}
• They possess real knowledge and refer to as "knowledgeable persons" because their insight has convinced them of His power and Wisdom in controlling the universe perfectly. as the Quran has referred to those people as ulamak (the learned / the knowledgeable), and in modern terminology they are called scientists.^[8]
• Imam Sajjad has reported the messenger of Allah as saying: “From the most beloved ways to Allah the Almighty are two potions; a potion of anger that you repel with forbearance and a potion of calamity that you repel with patience.”^[10]
• Moderation and Humbleness: Then, Imam Ali elaborated the features of the pious and said: “Thus,the pious have special virtues.Their speech is to the point and just to please Allah, their clothing is moderate and their gait is humble.”^[7]
• They lower their eyes before what Allah has prohibited for them (not to look at), and make their hearings just listen to the knowledge that is beneficial to them. {Qur'an 24 : 30-31}

Merits of Piety

• Piety is described as the master of all traits of character.^[11]
• Piety is the only condition for the acceptance of deeds. ^[12]
• Piety brings about Self esteem in a man. ^[13]
• Piety is a means to divine knowledge. ^[14]
• The pious overcomes Shaitans. ^[15]
• Piety brings about heavenly blessings. ^[16]
• They shall have no fear or sorrow.^[17]
• Allah loves the Pious. ^[18]

Piety and Islamic rules

The piety has considered with rules like Taqiyyah, Ablution, prayer, fasting, Trade.^[19]

See also

• Islamic views on sin

References